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Each program installed on Windows Vista creates an uninstall entry, which appears in the Programs and Features control panel. A faulty program could create a broken uninstall entry or fail to properly remove its uninstall entry. Each entry is associated with an EXE file and will also fail to function if the application is removed manually. These uninstall entries are stored in the Windows registry. You’ll need access to the Registry Editor on your business computer to delete them. Contact your system administrator if you don’t have access.

1.

Click “Start,” type “Regedit” (without quotes) into the search box in the Start menu and press “Enter” to launch the Registry Editor.

2.

Click the “Yes” button in the User Account Control window that appears. Enter your password if you see a password dialog box instead.

3.

Navigate to the “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall” key in the left pane of the Registry Editor. Each subkey under the Uninstall key represents an uninstall entry.

4.

Select a subkey under the Uninstall key and read the DisplayName field in the right pane.

5.

Click or use the arrow keys to go through the subkeys, reading their DisplayName fields, until you locate the uninstall entry you want to remove.

6.

Right-click the subkey in the left pane and select “Delete” to remove it.

Tip

Microsoft recommends creating a backup before deleting any keys. To create the backup, right-click the “Uninstall” key in the left pane, select “Export” and provide a file name for the backup. If you accidentally delete an important key or encounter a problem, double-click the backup file you created to restore the backup.

Warning

Be careful when editing your registry. You could remove an important uninstall entry.